1. The Federal Reserve announces an interest rate decision (upper limit) of 4.50%
The Federal Reserve announced an interest rate decision (upper limit) of 4.50%, expected at 4.50%, previous value 4.75%. According to the Federal Reserve's statement, recent data shows that economic activity is steadily growing, the labor market has eased, unemployment has risen but remains low, and inflation is close to the target but has slightly increased. The committee will continue to reduce its balance sheet, and the resolution received majority support among members, with Beth Harmack opposing, advocating for maintaining interest rates between 4.5% - 4.75%. Powell stated at a press conference that we are not allowed to have Bitcoin, nor do we wish to change the law. The dot plot indicates that the forecast for interest rate cuts next year has been adjusted from four to two; Powell mentioned that future considerations for interest rate adjustments can be more cautious, with the path depending on achieving more progress in reducing inflation. It may take another year or two to reach the inflation target. It is unlikely to raise interest rates next year.
2. Global user survey on cryptocurrencies: The number of meme coin holders exceeds that of Bitcoin, nearly half of users entered the crypto market in 2024
Binance released a global user survey report, surveying 27,230 respondents. Among emerging sub-industries, 23.89% of respondents believe that AI tokens will drive market growth, making them the digital asset category with the highest potential for growth. Memecoins ranked second, with 19.09% of respondents expressing confidence in their potential for appreciation, followed by DeFi tokens (12.37%) and layer-1 tokens (12.28%). Regarding the most popular tokens among users, meme coins dominate, with 16.1% of respondents currently holding memecoins. Bitcoin ranks second with a holding rate of 14.44%. The survey also indicated a significant influx of new users into the cryptocurrency field, with nearly half (45%) of respondents joining the cryptocurrency market in 2024.
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3. Arthur Hayes: Trump's team may bypass the Federal Reserve's 'money printing'
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes tweeted that Powell is not cooperating with Trump like he does with Biden. However, it doesn’t matter, as Trump’s nominated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will balance Powell like 'bad girl' Yellen. The Trump team may bypass the Federal Reserve's intervention to achieve 'money printing' operations through three major strategies: ending the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; promoting the economy by devaluing the dollar against gold; and implementing leverage capital requirement (SLR) exemptions.
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4. The price of Bitcoin mining machines in Huaqiangbei has risen sharply, with most buyers from Russia, the United States, and Canada
Affected by the surge in Bitcoin prices, the price of Bitcoin mining machines in Huaqiangbei, Shenzhen has risen sharply. The Antminer S21 335T is priced at $5,600 each (approximately 40,700 RMB), a 30% increase from last year. Some high-performance models, such as the S21 XP water-cooled miner, are sold out on the official website, leading to a supply-demand imbalance in the mining machine market. Buyers mainly come from regions such as Russia, the United States, and Canada, with some customers purchasing hundreds to thousands of mining machines at once. The low electricity prices in these regions, such as only 0.37 RMB per kilowatt-hour in Canada and as low as 0.2 RMB in Russia, provide miners with a significant profit margin.
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5. Europol seizes $26 million in cryptocurrency from 9 drug dealers
Europol, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from six countries, successfully dismantled an international drug trafficking network using cryptocurrency for financial transactions. The operation arrested 9 suspects and seized high-value items including gold, luxury goods, €35,000 in cash, and approximately $26 million in cryptocurrency. This investigation took years and involved cooperation from countries like Spain, the UK, and Belgium, ultimately pinpointing a crime network controlled from Dubai and headquartered in southern Spain.
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